Yay I'm back with another chapter for you! Sorry it took so long. This has been finished since Sunday but it had to go through the editing process by someone else because I've made this so complicated I can't do it myself. Too many details to pay attention to in my own brain. How sad. Anyway, I've also included the first steamy bit of this fic. It's nothing spectacular, but there will be more where it came from. I basically had a request from someone to write it since I have never written anything like it in my other fics. I hope you like it, and remember…that's just the beginning. Don't forget to review so I know that I need to update again soon.
The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and a nervous McGonagall led the line of Prefects, and Head Boy and Girl in toward the center of the hall. The doors creaked shut behind them as they moved along.
Hermione walked beside Harry, and turned to give him a quick glance of suspicion. Harry shrugged his shoulders, and decided they would end up talking about the whole matter once the ball began.
The line stopped as McGonagall did, and they watched as she turned around to face them. The nervousness in her behavior was still there, but it was only obvious to those looking for it. "Now," she began. "Your only duty tonight as representatives of this school-is to be sure everyone, as well as yourselves, has fun tonight. You have a long summer ahead of you-" When she mentioned the long summer ahead, she plastered her eyes on Harry and Hermione for a few moments, then continued-snapping her eyes away to glance at the other prefects, "So be sure you enjoy every moment of it. In precisely one minute, you'll open those doors to let in the rest of the student body. After everyone is in, you will all take a seat at that table," she gestured toward a long table on one side of the hall… "The Head Master with initiate the ball, and then you're free to go about as you please."
All the prefects nodded, and made their way toward the doors, with the girls lined up, facing the boys in front of them. Harry and Hermione looked at McGonagall, who nodded, and the Head Boy and Girl opened the doors. The students waiting outside the hall looked through the doors for a few long moments before actually flooding in. The Great Hall filled up in a very short time as everyone found seats at their chosen tables. As the last student strolled in, the prefects made their way to their designated table, and had a seat. Everyone waited for Dumbledore to get things underway, but he wasn't in the Great Hall just yet.
The sounds of the students chatting wildly amongst themselves, and the looks on their faces showed how long they have been waiting for this-wanting this. Hermione gazed around at everyone, and turned to Harry, who was sitting next to her, and pinched his leg under the table.
Harry jumped in his seat, and looked at Hermione with a surprised look on his face. "What was that for?" He asked, rubbing the spot where Hermione had pinched him.
She leaned in to him. "Have you noticed how nervous McGonagall looks right now?" She leaned back against her chair and watched as Harry scanned the room for her. Once he locked his eyes on her, he stared.
His gaze turned back to Hermione and he said, "What could she be nervous about?"
***
Professor Snape whisked himself throughout the corridors of the castle as quickly as he could, toward Dumbledore's office. With the entire student body now in the Great Hall for the ball, he didn't have to worry about seeing suspicious and interrogating looks being thrown his way.
Each second that passed was important. Soon, Snape had reached the hidden passage way to his destination. The next few seconds passed in a blur and he found himself standing before the Head Master himself, with the curtains pulled shut and very little light dancing through the room.
It was very gloomy and quiet in the Head Master's presence as he stood above his pensieve looking down on recent thoughts. Snape's own thoughts reeled in his dark, complicated mind, but he was halted from thinking any further when Dumbledore finally acknowledged his presence.
Without looking him in the eye, he spoke. "I assume Minerva has already informed you of what's going on?" Then he looked up.
Snape nodded, but at the same time, shook his head. "I only let her speak long enough to tell me you want a certain group of students out of here tonight. We discussed this just a few days ago. Everything is in order for their safe transport in the morning."
Dumbledore felt insulted and challenged at his comment, but took it into consideration. "I received a letter from division two just a short while ago. Things have changed, and we have to get them out of here tonight, understand?"
Snape nodded coolly, and looked down at the letter Dumbledore had lying open on his desk behind him.
"They're leaving tonight, and you're going to be of great help."
His eyes widened in curiosity at the thought of how he could help with this situation. "What exactly do you have in mind?" he asked slyly.
Dumbledore softened his pained expression for just a few moments and managed to give him his trademark smile and twinkling eyes. "You're going to get them out of here, and rush them off to camp three."
Snape blinked, trying to comprehend what he was asking him to do.
Knowing what must be going through Snape's mind, Dumbledore said, "Oh no, Severus. I hate to say this to you, but this isn't a request. It's an order."
Snape didn't break eye-contact with him, but thought about it for a minute. This was going to be hard. "I hope you're aware of how dangerous this might turn out to be. Not only are there Death Eaters out there, but this particular group of students don't trust me to bring them to safety. It's going to be quite the chore to convince them to do as I say."
Dumbledore looked at him sternly for a moment before continuing. "Severus, I'm not worried about the Death Eaters. After all, you were one of them once. You know how to handle them. Am I right?"
He turned his eyes away and couldn't help feeling insulted at the remark, even though he knew that's not how his Head Master meant it.
"Now about Mr. Potter not trusting you. Swallow the happenings of the past and just get us through this obstacle, will you? It will turn out better for all of us in the end if we do this tonight."
Snape nodded, and began to get irritated at the darkness of the room, which is something Dumbledore started doing recently to help him gather his thoughts and give him an even better sense of privacy.
"They should be down in the Great Hall right now, enjoying themselves." He paused for a moment and stepped into the stream of moonlight that escaped through the separation in the curtains. "Get everything in order before you pull them away from the fun. They need some time to themselves right now."
Snape nodded and on Dumbledore's request, left the office to prepare for the job he was about to do.
***
Hermione and Ron danced closely together on the dance floor, as slow song after slow song continued to echo through the Great Hall.
Harry sat at the Prefects' table with Neville and Ginny now accompanying him. "Are you sure you're alright Harry?" Neville asked, concerned with the blank look on his friend's face.
He was locking his eyes on Ron and Hermione from time to time as they danced, but mainly just looked around the Hall at all the happy couples twirling around on the dance floor. Harry turned to Neville and sighed. "I'm fine, really. Just bored is all." His head turned back to the sight before him, and he started drowning himself in self-pity all over again.
Ginny looked at Neville and whispered something in his ear. Her next actions came as a surprise to Harry, for she stood up, took him by the hand and pulled him out from behind the table. He followed behind her as she led him away, glancing back at Neville for some answers. Harry found himself out on the dance floor with Harry Ginny, pressing herself to him so she could whisper in his ear.
"Harry, if I knew not having a date was going to bother you this much I would have turned Neville down if it meant keeping you distracted from other things."
Just as she said this, Harry stepped back to spin Ginny around quickly before pulling her back into his arms. "Ginny, I said I'm fine. I just don't see the point of me being here right now."
She looked at him square in the eye before moving closer to whisper again. "Is it that, or do you not fancy seeing my brother with Hermione?"
Harry went rigid and choked on the words he wanted to say. "Why would that bother me? They've been together for months now."
Ginny looked at him again and smiled slightly as the two of them slowed with the rhythm of the music. "Because, Harry, I think you have feelings for her."
Harry pulled her in close again, and briefly met eyes with Hermione on the other side of the room. He smiled a very small smile and answered Ginny's question, still making eye-contact. "If I had feelings for her, she would be the one in my arms right now-not you."
"Alright then-have it your way. I still think there's something going on between the two of you."
Harry turned her again and pulled her back into him, placing his hand on her back. "Why do you say that?"
She rested her cheek against his and felt his warm skin against hers. "Before this school year started, I always thought you two would end up together instead of her being with Ron. One way or another, I was wrong about that. But something tells me I'm missing a big piece to this story, and I'm determined to figure out what it is."
Harry stopped, pulled back slightly, and stared at her. "Is that a threat?"
Ginny smiled while pulling him back in to her, and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Of course not, Harry. What's going on with you lately? Why would I threaten someone I've been good friends with for a long time?" Harry shrugged. "I'm just saying that I don't completely understand why Hermione would date my brother before she would date you. You're incredible." Harry smiled to himself, letting his ego kick in a bit at her honesty, and spotted Hermione across the room again.
The song ended, and Harry pulled back to give Ginny a friendly kiss on the forehead. "Well thanks for the dance, Gin. You might want to go keep Neville company now-he looks confused." She laughed and gave him a hug. "Have fun tonight, Harry. Alright?" He nodded and she walked off to bring Neville onto the floor with her.
Feeling out of place in the whole situation, Harry walked back through the doors of the Great Hall to go for a brief walk to clear his head. If Ginny was thinking something wasn't right with Hermione being with Ron, then that wasn't good. On the other hand, she knew them all better than most of the other students in the school, so she saw things differently. It still bothered Harry a bit, but he had an idea how he could soothe Ginny's doubts.
He kept walking through the dimly lit corridors, and stopped to sit on a set of stairs where no one would notice him. He sat on the bottom, and just stared straight in front of him, sifting through random thoughts in his head. Looking down he saw his shoe was untied and while tying it back up, he spotted something out the corner of his eye. His head snapped up and he saw his reflection in the mirror on the wall across from him. "That's strange," he whispered, not being able to help the thought that he saw something moving in it before seeing his own reflection.
A few minutes passed, and he still sat there, drowning in his own pool of thoughts. He didn't even hear footsteps coming in his direction.
The sounds stopped, and Harry saw a pair of feet in front of him as he stared down. Dragging his eyes up, he came to meet eyes with a smiling Hermione. "I saw you leave a few minutes ago and when you didn't come back I thought I would come and look for you." He smiled and she had a seat next to him and waited for a word to escape his lips.
"We have to be careful, Hermione," he finally said, looking right at her. She looked puzzled and slowly ran her fingers up and down the back of his neck, causing him to slip into a daze. "What do you mean?" She asked seriously. Harry took her hand away from his neck and held it in his while he stroked her shoulder. "I was just talking to Ginny-"
Hermione smiled. "Talking? All I saw was dancing."
Harry smiled but didn't let the subject change. "She told me that she doesn't understand how you could be with Ron before ever being with me."
Hermione looked at the floor for a moment then looked into his questioning eyes. "You know, Harry. Sometimes this arrangement gets to be so repetitive, that I forget the bigger picture."
He wrinkled his forehead in confusion, wondering what she was talking about. "What?"
"Harry, Ginny definitely has a point. The reality of it is that I am with you and not Ron. But because we have to make everyone believe I'm with Ron, I have to convince myself that I'm with him."
Harry nodded, although, he didn't know what he was agreeing to.
"I honestly don't think we have anything to worry about. If Ginny can't figure out why I would want to be with Ron, then we're doing our job exactly as we should. She or anyone else shouldn't have to understand everything fully. If it was that easy, we would have a situation on our hands. But because it doesn't make sense, it isn't perfect, and isn't obvious why we're doing it, then everything's okay." She brushed his cheek and smoothed away the hair from his eyes. He smiled at her comments and felt a bit better about the situation, except for one thing.
"But Hermione, I do think we have to worry about Ginny."
She was still smiling, but saw the look on his face and couldn't help wondering why it was there. "Why?"
Harry looked around to be sure no one was there or would be able to hear them. "She doesn't know I know this, but the other day when I was on my way back from the Quidditch locker rooms, I saw her getting very close with Malfoy."
Her eyes widened. "What? What do you mean-close?"
Harry looked at her seriously, and that worried look returned to his eyes. "I mean-he had her backed up against a wall behind the locker rooms, and from what it looked like, there was some heavy flirting going on, and it seemed as if they were feeling each other up."
Hermione, too, had a worried look in her eyes now. "Are you sure they didn't see you?"
He nodded. "But that's not what I'm worried about. I could care less if they saw me or not. What gets me is what might happen if Ginny finds out this secret between you, me, and Ron. Especially when I suspect Ginny and Malfoy might be going behind everyone else's backs doing their own thing. If she thinks she can trust him, she could blow this for all of us."
"Wow, Harry. This could be serious. I think all Malfoy is trying to do is get information from her."
Harry bit his bottom lip hard for a moment. "I'm almost sure of it. Since she's never said anything about even liking Malfoy, it could be very bad. Dumbledore told me once to be careful about showing any strong feelings toward a girl that held my interest. He said it could become dangerous and be used against me by Voldemort."
"That must have been after we said how we felt about each other, right?" Harry nodded, and smiled at the little memory that crept back into his mind. "That's why we had to go in secret about us."
"He and the rest of the order suspected something was going on between us shortly after that, so that's why we're in this situation right now. So if Malfoy were to go running to daddy about this, you would be in a lot of trouble, and I can't let that happen."
Hermione moved closer to Harry and wrapped her arms around him tight. "Then we have to do something to make sure Ginny doesn't figure us out. Have you told Dumbledore what you saw?"
Harry shook his head lightly as he ran his hands up and down the soft material covering her back. "I didn't think it really meant anything until now. I had no idea Ginny suspected something was wrong with you being with Ron. I mean, I did think it was a little strange that she would even want to be around Malfoy."
She kissed his cheek and pulled away. "Well then, I haven't kissed Ron yet, so that's what I'm going to do. And I'll make sure she sees it."
Harry cringed at the vision in his mind of Hermione and Ron kissing.
"Don't worry, Harry. It will just be a simple kiss-nothing too dramatic. I know Ron will be surprised, but I'll explain it to him later."
Harry nodded. "Well before I let you go back in there and kiss Ron all on your own free will, let's take a walk. I have something to show you."
Hermione smiled, and leaned her head on Harry's shoulder before he helped her to her feet.
***
Quite a while had passed since Hermione went looking for Harry, and Ron was starting to wonder what was taking her so long to come back. He knew exactly where she was, but she said she wouldn't be gone long, and almost an hour passed in an instant. People were starting to ask questions. "She spilled something on her dress," he had told Ginny, Neville, and about a handful of other people that had asked about her whereabouts.
Ron was now sitting at a table with Ginny, Neville, Seamus, Dean, and a few other random people in their year, with the exception of Ginny-who was a year behind them.
"So-Ron…" Ginny started, getting Ron to turn his head away from the entrance of the hall for a few moments. "What," he asked obliviously. Ginny smirked. "Why didn't you go help Hermione change into another dress?"
Ron's head started spinning as he tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. "Because. That's why." Ginny raised her eyebrows. Ron's face turned red at the anticipation of what he was about to say. "Because she told me that if I went with her to go change, she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off me." His jaw clenched and he leaned back into his chair, hoping no one heard what he just said. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Figures. You two must have a really private relationship, because I've never even seen you kiss yet-and you've been dating for months now!"
Neville and the others looked at him with their eyebrows raised. "Oh sure they've kissed!" Seamus stopped and looked at his face. "Although, I've never seen it myself. Have you two kissed yet?"
Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Of course we have!"
Right then, Ron felt a shiver on the back of his neck. Turning around, he found Snape staring down at him. "Mr. Weasley." He said icily, making Ron shiver, and wonder what he did wrong now.
"Can I have a word with you? You too Miss Weasley, and Mr. Longbottom." All three of them looked at each other and swallowed hard. Seamus and Dean watched them get up from the table, and felt fear for them.
"I wonder what Snape wants now," Seamus said when they were out of ear-shot. Dean shrugged. "They're all Gryffindors. That's plenty enough reason to be doing something wrong," he said.
Once out of the Great Hall, Snape led them to a dark corridor in the school, near Gryffindor tower-and never spoke a word. The three Gryffindors following behind him felt quite nervous as to not hearing an explanation of why they were being taken away from the ball.
"Where are Mr. Potter and Miss Granger?" Snape suddenly spoke up.
Ginny and Neville both looked at Ron, hoping he would say something. Ron swallowed and tried not to choke on his words. "Hermione's up in her room changing, and I'm not sure where Harry is."
Snape continued to walk, and sped up slightly. "Well then, we'll find him."
"Professor?" Neville started.
He turned briefly to look at him. "What, Mr. Longbottom?"
"Can I ask what this is all about? Did we do something wrong?"
The four of them turned a corner and were now at the entrance to the Prefects' dorms. "One of you go in there and get Miss Granger. The rest of us will split up and search the school for Potter." He paused and looked at Ron. "I'm assuming you know the password, so you go in there and get her."
Ron stepped forward, being the only one that knew the Prefects' password, and disappeared into their common room. Snape turned around and began walking again, with Neville and Ginny following hesitantly behind him.
"But Professor! What's going on? Why won't you tell us?" Ginny said, trying to keep up at Snape's side. He looked at her with a blank expression.
"All of you will find out once we have everyone in the same room. You two go up to the second floor and have a look around. I'm going to stay down here and look. If you don't find him within the next ten minutes or so, go into the library and wait for me there." He stopped and stared at them. "Get moving! We're in a hurry!" The two of them jumped.
Snape walked on, and left a confused Ginny and Neville behind at the bottom of a set of stairs.
"I guess we better start looking." Neville said, and the two of them made their way up the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them.
***
Harry gently lifted Hermione off her feet and placed her on the short brick wall over-looking the lake on the roof of the Astronomy tower. He wrapped his arms around her as she turned and admired the view. The lake was reflecting the stars in the clear night sky above, which was what Harry was looking at. They stayed silent for a very long time, but enjoyed each other's company with no one else around to scold them.
Harry brought her up to the Astronomy tower to be alone, and look at the stars in the cloudless sky. For a few minutes they talked about how it felt to not be able to be with each other every second of every day, and how hard it was for Harry to see her in Ron's arms most of the time.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered softly. She turned in her spot to face Harry. If she leaned back, she could fall down onto the ground below, but she knew Harry wouldn't let that happen. He stood between her legs, and ran his hands lightly up and down her exposed skin.
He lifted his head up. "Hmm?"
Hermione looked down into his eyes and saw how relaxed and carefree he was at this moment. She hopped down from the wall and turned him so that he was now against it. Her arms circled around his neck, fingers entwining themselves in his hair while she looked at him. "You're so angelic when you're relaxed," she whispered softly, closing the gap between them and kissing him softly on the lips.
He slowly and gently ran his hands up and down her back, relaxing her in his arms. Both of them were enjoying the peace they were experiencing, being away from the rest of the world-or so it seemed.
Hermione pulled back and had a different look in her eyes. Harry noticed it right away and recognized it as something mysterious. She was up to something. Keeping direct eye contact with him, she slowly slid her hands in his robe and brought it up and off his shoulders. Harry's heart beat faster with every second. With a genuine smile, Hermione proceeded to tugging his shirt out of his slacks. The cool air of the night mingled with his skin through his shirt. Hermione moved back into him and kissed him again.
Harry's arms wrapped around her tighter as the kiss intensified. Soon, both of them were lacking air, and pulled apart slowly. Harry slid his fingers in between the straps of her dress and the bare skin of her shoulders, stroking her, while Hermione clung to him and enjoyed the feel of them being this close without any interruptions.
He bent low and kissed the delicate skin on her neck. Within moments, he was pulling her down to the ground on top of him onto a blanket he conjured up while she was working on un-tucking his shirt. They continued their affectionate attacks on one another. Harry lifted himself up on his elbows and enjoyed himself while Hermione kissed just below his ear, and on down his neck.
She swiftly hiked up her dress and straddled him, creating various sensations all over his toned body. She stopped and looked at him with a seductive glint in her cinnamon eyes. The buttons of Harry's shirt were slowly being unbuttoned, and she knew the torture she was putting him through. As soon as the last button was undone, she planted kisses all over his skin, starting at his chest, and stopping above his slacks. Teasingly she arched up and kissed him passionately on the lips.
Harry took the opportunity to turn the tables on her, and flipped her onto her back so he was the one in control now. He braced himself up with his arms…one on each side of her head, and just stared down at her. She was simply stunning-with the dress still clung to every curve of her body, and the moonlight illuminating her face. For a moment he was breathless, but didn't let that get in the way of the issue at hand. He gently moved one leg out of his way so he could be closer to her, and stroked the outer side of her thigh as he held it firmly to him. He was beginning to feel like he was losing the harness on his self control, especially with her running her hands up and down his chest the way she was. The feeling was intense between them, and only grew stronger when Hermione played with the top edge of his slacks.
Harry smiled, gritted his teeth, and was about to do something of a questionable nature to her, when he heard a noise. Harry sprung to his feet and pulled out his wand-whirling around pointing it in all directions. Something came out of the shadows and Hermione choked on her own oxygen. It was Neville. Thankfully, he was alone, but that didn't help the situation much. Confusion was clearly etched on his face and he looked down at Hermione sprawled out on the blanket, then back up to Harry-furious.
"Neville, what are you doing here?" Hermione whispered, straightening out her dress as she stood up. Harry's shirt was unbuttoned, and his hair was all messed up.
Neville looked as if he was going to be sick. The situation before him was haunting his thoughts, and had him believing they were betraying their own friend-Ron. He cleared his throat and avoided eye-contact with either of them. "Snape, Ginny, and I have been looking everywhere for you. And Ron's been looking for you, Hermione." He stared at the ground. "Something is going on. You have to come right away. Both of you." He turned to leave, but Harry jumped in front of him and took him firmly by the shoulders.
"Did you come alone?" Harry asked softly, glancing behind Neville. He nodded, but still refused to make eye contact.
Harry pushed him further into their area and prepared to explain. Hermione looked like she was pleading with him. "Neville, you know us, right?" He looked at her and nodded. Hermione looked at Harry and held up a hand, not wanting him to say anything. "We know we can trust you with anything, but would you be willing to keep the biggest secret you'll ever know?" He nodded again. "Then Harry and I have something we better tell you, before this can go beyond the three of us."
Harry wanted to protest, but remembered how smart Hermione was, and how her judgment was usually better than his own.
Neville didn't understand how they could be so relaxed and without guilt. He calmed a bit when he saw Hermione move to stand next to Harry.
"Okay Neville, this is very important. Listen to me very carefully and no interruptions."
He glanced between the two of them, but nodded in agreement.
Hermione put her hand on Harry's cheek and readied herself for a quick explanation to Neville. "To make this short, I'm just going to cut to the point. A while back, Harry and I-oh just perfect." Hermione stopped when she saw Professor Snape moving toward them very swiftly with Ron and Ginny coming up after him. Hermione looked directly in Neville's eyes. "You know we would never lie to you. This isn't what you're thinking. Just don't say anything about this to anyone and we'll both explain later." He nodded. Harry heard Ginny's voice in the near distance and quickly made the blanket disappear, as well as any evidence that they nearly had a romp right here on the roof. Both his and Hermione's clothes were straightened, as well as their hair. Neville was still confused, but he didn't say a word.
Snape was glaring at Harry and Hermione, knowing perfectly well what they were up to. "Why are the both of you up here together?" He stopped and stared at Neville. "Mr. Longbottom-what are you doing here?" he hissed.
Neville was intimidated by Snape's behavior but managed to give a simple answer. "I came up here thinking Harry might be here, and Hermione came up a few minutes later."
Hermione and Harry both looked at him, thanking him with their eyes. Snape, however, didn't fall for it. "I don't see any need to lie for them Longbottom. I know what they were doing. However, it may be best to stick to that story with Ginny and Ron right behind me."
Neville didn't know why he did it, but he did. Right then, Ron and Ginny made their presence known. "There you are! Both of you! I've been looking everywhere for you Hermione," Ron said, relieved they were both alright. Though, for Ginny's sake, he was much more concerned with Hermione being safe.
"Professor, what exactly is going on?" Hermione asked, startling when Ron came up behind her and wrapped his arms tight around her shoulders.
Snape's eyes were on them intensely for a few moments before he looked at the group of them.
"Due to some unnamed complications, all five of you are leaving as soon as possible."
"But Professor, we're leaving tomorrow." Snape stared at Harry for a moment. "We are leaving tomorrow morning. Aren't we?"
"No, Potter-I'm afraid not. If things go as planned, you're on your way out of this castle in the next hour. Now go pack your things, we have a lot of work to do."
Snape turned sharply and left the roof before any of them could protest. The five of them stared dumbfounded at each other.
Thanks for your time everyone! Chapter 4 should be wrapped up by the end of the week. If you got confused by some things in here, read over it again. If that still doesn't help, you can ask questions in your review and I'll try to answer them. OR you can just wait until the next chapter to find out what's going on…if you can wait, that is. Thanks!